I think the story of Warren Buffett is amazing. That said, his advice is very general to the ordinary investor. I find myself following Jack Bogle's advice more. That said I would not sleep well with no bonds with 90% in stocks and 10% in cash. Best. Hopefully you’re not following Jacks advice and ...

This stock market is wearing me out! :mrgreen: It’s only the second week of the year and the S&P might be up 5% by closing. This is exhausting. I’m getting tired of winning Indeed! The DOW broke 25,000, for the first time ever, only 5 days ago, and it's already up 400 points! 26,000+ end of January...

40. The big financial risk isn't dying early in retirement but, rather, living longer than we ever imagined. For 90% of Americans yes, for Bogleheads not so much. I seriously doubt Steve Jobs would agree with this statement. That’s the problem, the people that worked too long and died early from st...

With CAPE at the second highest level in history and the U.S. stock market acting bubblicious these days, I think it is a good time for older investors to heed Dr. Bernstein's advice: "If you've won the game, stop playing." Nobody can predict what the market will do and accumulators should probably...

I found this article from American Funds on the Twitters, and thought it was interesting work. It proposes a SWR metric for early retirees at different ages (assuming you live to 95), and with a 95% confidence rating. It attempts to account for the current low-return expectations, as well as the im...

Another day of winning! This chart is looking more and more likely to hold the pattern by the day. If I was a betting man I would say we have 7 more years of robust GDP growth. Hey, if Jack can predict doom every week, I’ll take the other side of the coin. :mrgreen: https://www.beacontechnologies.co...

A Roth conversion ladder offers so many benefits over 72t I honestly have no clue why you would do 72t. The flexibility of a Roth conversion ladder alone and the fact that you’re not locked in the way you are on a 72t is enough to make it a far superior strategy.

I find the use a multiple to determine FIRE to be nice for a soft target when you are years away from pulling the trigger. However as you get closer I think you really need to drill down to the details of annual spending inclusive of pension (we have a modest one at age 65), Social Security and mos...

Let's put some numbers together for clarity and all numbers are in today dollars. Say you need $80K a year to live comfortably which is about $100K before taxes. You are 57 now and want to take social security benefits at 67 at which time you would get $30K a year. You would need: ● $100K x 10 = $1...

Let's put some numbers together for clarity and all numbers are in today dollars. Say you need $80K a year to live comfortably which is about $100K before taxes. You are 57 now and want to take social security benefits at 67 at which time you would get $30K a year. You would need: ● $100K x 10 = $1...

Correct, medical bankruptcy happens ... And a well run business can hit the skids through no fault of the owner/ managers. Divorce happens. Stoicism would help a person get through these situations (as would other phil. and rel.). The OP was a cautionary note. We can all use them once in a while. I...

There is a big difference between ancient Greece and Rome and modern day America and it is call Bankruptcy. Not that I am advocating such but needs must. Not really, I know a few folks who have gone through bankruptcy ... It nearly kills a persons soul. Then there are student loans which are note b...

They might have done you a favor. Housing prices are completely out of whack according to historical pricing norms. We are back up and past 2008 levels, not good. It’s completely possible you could look back on this in a year with the perspective that you dodge a bullet. http://www.doctorhousingbubb...

I always find these topics on here so amusing. In my head it’s like picturing a bunch of 50 year olds standing around on an air field debating for 5 hours about if they should sky dive or not, the beifits, the risk, watching people younger than them walk by, get in the plane and saying stuff like “t...

Here's a health plan in Pittsburgh - Married couple both 55 with income of approx $23k - Monthly premium is $4.62 - yes - I put the decimal point in the right place. https://i.imgur.com/lvVKgY8.png However I believe this also proves another point made by several in this conversation. For a couple e...

Since the ACA is fully implemented in Colorado healthcare is the last thing I worry about. I’m way more concerned about wasting 10 years or more of my healthy years working a high paying, high stress job that will probably cause health problems just so I can pay taxes for a bunch of stuff I don’t ag...

That's going to really suck if Jack ends up being right. If you look hard enough you can find him making these same predictions year after year since after the crash in 2008. Jack is a great man but when it comes to predicting the stock market future he is about as right as a broken watch. Warren B...

There is a lot of cash in the economy but to me this feels nothing like 2006. That was a credit bubble par excellence. This is just housing exuberance. I do not think we are about to see prices tank nationally, barring a catastrophic black swan. Isn’t that exactly what people were saying around 200...

This sounds like it’s a California market and as someone from Texas I still can’t get it. I wouldn’t even offer more than the Zillow estimate much less more than asking price. I agree with others that this feels eerily similar to pre 2008. Maybe the new norm will be for housing to go through booms a...

Wow! I’m guessing you live in California or NY if you think it’s that expensive to raise kids. If you ever want a little perspective check out RootofGood.com guy was an engineer, early retired at 33 with only a little more than the OP, has 3 kids, travels and post his complete monthly budget and in...

As some others have mentioned, the key is whether you want to get married and/or have kids. If you stay single, you can get by with your frugal lifestyle. If you get married, its not your call anymore. Your spending will be a function of what your wife wants to spend and the kids. Not to mention th...

All the comments about healthcare lead me to believe that many bogleheads are seriously misinformed about it. Healthcare will be a nonissue depending on the state of course. Don’t believe me? Take a look at RootofGood, he posts his entire budget for him, his wife and three kids. Health insurance is...

All the comments about healthcare lead me to believe that many bogleheads are seriously misinformed about it. Healthcare will be a nonissue depending on the state of course. Don’t believe me? Take a look at RootofGood, he posts his entire budget for him, his wife and three kids. Health insurance is ...

Hate to tell you this, I don't think you have enough to retire unless you live in a very low cost of living area. With 80% stocks, you are also vulnerable to a bear market. Are you really going to live on $30,000 a year? I’m guessing you would be shocked to know that the average American household ...

But good luck giving it a try for a while! Welcome to the Forum! JW And good luck trying to find a job you'll be happy with after laying out of the job market for awhile. And then good luck stretching your money into normal retirement years. And then good luck living in your normal retirement years...

Hate to tell you this, I don't think you have enough to retire unless you live in a very low cost of living area. With 80% stocks, you are also vulnerable to a bear market. Are you really going to live on $30,000 a year? I’m guessing you would be shocked to know that the average American household ...

Steve Jobs had billions, access to the best medical care on the planet, still died working himself into the grave. Look up the Steve Jobs is dead principle on YouTube. Think about it. Actually, Steve Jobs was a health food/yoga/cosmic energy nut-bar. That's what did him in. He wanted to believe tha...

It’s more than enough especially if you have a paid off house in a low cost area, grand junction and Colorado Springs are two perfect examples. Health care is a not going to be an issue. Just go to the Colorado health care exachange and check the rates yourself. Using income manipulation you can get...

I just think it's too dicey to go abroad for dental implants, purely my opinion. I have a general dentist, endodontist, and oral surgeon, unfortunately. I had read that Hungary has excellent dentistry for expats, so I ran it by my dentist just out of curiousity- she said some of the worst dentistry...

Actionable items: 1.) and this is key, have a paid off house in a lcol area with low property taxes such as Colorado. 2.) don't work so hard, make less, if your wife works considered letting her stay home and take care of the kids. Take the time to do the math and make sure it's really worth it to ...

IMHO when it comes to dental implants and spine surgery and brain surgery and hip replacement, I'd find a way of paying for the best and the best (and most available, meaning USA) follow up care that money can buy. How do you know that you are getting the best doctors in the U.S.? We recently had a...

Actionable items: 1.) and this is key, have a paid off house in a lcol area with low property taxes such as Colorado. 2.) don't work so hard, make less, if your wife works considered letting her stay home and take care of the kids. Take the time to do the math and make sure it's really worth it to m...

Cost sharing reductions for low income (between 125% - 250% of federal poverty limit) was supposed to be provided by the federal government to the insurance companies. Depends on who you listen to. The judicial branch has ruled that reimbursement of these cost sharing reductions was not part of the...

Well with the elimination of the CSRs by the Feds, my unsubsidized Blue Shield Silver PPO plan in California is going up a full 50%!!! No BS. :oops: Supposedly if I buy off exchange, I may not be hit by the surcharge for lack of CSR, but the off exchange rates are not yet available. I'm searching a...

Bigbonds, do you buy directly from the ACA site, or do you use a broker? Directly from ACA. Wife and I have a paid off house, no debt, relatively minimalist and get by on $36000 to $40000 a year but by using income manipulation it looks like we only make $24,000 which keeps us right above Medicaid ...

41 wife 38. $1000 a year for a sliver plan in Colorado Springs. Deductiable is only $75 per person with 5 companies to choose from. We accomplish this by having no debt including a paid off house and using income manipulation to make it appear we earn/Roth convert 24k a year. Work the system or the...

41 wife 38. $1000 a year for a sliver plan in Colorado Springs. Deductiable is only $75 per person with 5 companies to choose from. We accomplish this by having no debt including a paid off house and using income manipulation to make it appear we earn/Roth convert 24k a year. Work the system or the ...

The number of answers in the 40s is surprising What did you do and what kind of net worth did you have to do that? Did you have children? Just to hop on that derail of the thread. How did the folks explain to the kids that you were retired at early 40's when you they were likely just in elementary ...